The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

And there was more saber rattling from Moscow today. In particular, the news about the Russian Navy wanting to establish a presence within the Mediterranean Sea will have some serious geostrategic consequences.

Armenian

Russia's Navy must restore presence in Mediterranean - commander



Russia must restore its permanent naval presence in the Mediterranean to ensure the protection of its strategic interests in the region, the Navy commander said Friday. "The Mediterranean is an important theater of operations for the Russian Black Sea Fleet," Admiral Vladimir Masorin said, adding that the fleet's zone of control extended through the Black and Mediterranean seas toward the Atlantic Ocean. "We must restore a permanent presence of the Russian Navy in this region," the Navy commander said.

He called for closer cooperation with Ukraine, where the bulk of the Black Sea Fleet is currently based, and Turkey, which is an important regional leader. Russia is part of the Black Sea Naval Cooperation Task Group (Blackseafor), which also includes Turkey, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania and Georgia. Formally established on Turkey's initiative in 2001, Blackseafor conducts search and rescue operations, and environmental monitoring, and organizes goodwill visits among Black Sea countries.

In addition, Russia actively participates in the NATO-led antiterrorism operation Active Endeavor in the Mediterranean. The country will send a frigate in September 2007 to join the NATO naval task force in the Eastern Mediterranean, the admiral said. Igor Dygalo, aide to the Navy commander, said commenting on Masorin's words, that Russia has no future plans to create groups or units of combat ships in the Mediterranean Sea like during the Cold War.

He added that the regular presence of Russian ships and submarines from the North, Baltic, and Black Sea Fleets in the Mediterranean Sea is "intended to outline Russia's foreign policy interests." Masorin said the presence of the Russian Navy in the region is crucial for the protection of energy supply routes via the Blue Stream gas pipeline and the proposed Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline.

Addressing the controversial issue of the Black Sea Fleet's base in Sevastopol in Ukraine, the Navy commander said Moscow and Kiev must respect the fundamental agreements on the base lease without any revisions. Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in 1997 stipulating that the Black Sea Fleet's main base in Sevastopol, on the Crimean Peninsula, be leased to Russia for 20 years, with the possibility of extending the term.

The annual rent of about $100 million is deducted from Ukraine's debt for Russian energy supplies. In addition to the main base, the Black Sea Fleet maintains two airfields and a ship re-supply facility on the Crimean Peninsula. He also said Ukraine should not worry about Russia's plans to reinforce its Black Sea Fleet, but should rather look for ways to expand naval cooperation with Moscow.

"The Russian and Ukrainian Navies could successfully cooperate in combat training, naval exercises and international operations," Masorin said. As an alternative to the Sevastopol base, which the Black Sea Fleet has to abandon by 2017, Russia has started construction of a naval base in the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk.

"Over 40 billion rubles [over $1.5 billion] have been allocated to the construction of a Black Sea Fleet base in Novorossiisk before 2020 under a federal target program," Admiral Vladimir Masorin said.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/world/20070803/70325361.html

Russia deployed over 30 new types of weaponry in Jan.-June 2007 -1



The Russian Armed Forces commissioned more than 30 new types of advanced weapon systems in the first half of 2007, the defense minister said Friday. "Thirty-six types of modern weaponry were deployed with the Armed Forces in the first half of 2007," Anatoly Serdyukov said.

The minister said these weapon systems included the submarine-launched R-29RM Sineva ballistic missiles, the S-400 Triumf air defense complex, and the 120-mm Nona SM-1 towed mortar for Ground Forces. The R-29RM Sineva (NATO codename SS-N-23) was designed for use by the Russian Delta IV class submarines, each of which is capable of carrying 16 missiles. It carries four nuclear warheads and has a range of about 8,500 kilometers.

Serdyukov also said Russia has successfully conducted test launches of the Yarts land-based ballistic missile, the Bulava sea-launched ballistic missile and the X-102 airborne missile. "We have entered the final testing stage for the entire missile triad," he said. In addition, Russia successfully tested a new version of the Iskander-M ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple warheads and launched two military reconnaissance and communication satellites, the defense minister said.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070803/70305426.html

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

After claiming the Pole, Russia looks south (to the Mediterranean Sea)



Russia stirred memories of the Cold War yesterday when the country's senior admiral called for the establishment of a permanent naval base in the Mediterranean for the first time since the Soviet era. Coming a day after an audacious mission to the North Pole to bolster Russia's territorial claims in the Arctic, Moscow's renewed naval ambitions are likely to spread further unease in Nato capitals. "The Mediterranean Sea is very important strategically," Admiral Vladimir Masorin said on a tour of the Russian navy's Black Sea base in the Crimean port of Sevastopol. "I propose that, with the involvement of the Northern and Baltic Fleets, the Russian navy should restore its permanent presence there."

His remarks raise doubts about the Kremlin's denial last year of a newspaper claim that new moorings were being built in the Syrian port of Tartus. Michael McDowell alights from the Mir-2 minisub after performing a record dive at the North Pole. According to Ivan Safronov, the journalist who died after mysteriously falling from a building in Moscow this year, Russia had also begun to expand the port at Latakia, also in Syria. President Vladimir Putin has been anxious to restore Moscow's influence in the Middle East, signing controversial arms deals with both Syria and Iran that have upset the United States and Israel.

If the port plan were to go ahead, Russian vessels and warships from the US Sixth Fleet, based in Italy, would face one another in the Mediterranean for the first time since the Cold War when the Soviet navy was based in Tartus. Russia maintains a symbolic and largely empty logistical facility at Tartus - its only military base outside the former Soviet Union.

Washington will be watching both developments with concern.

Yesterday it bluntly warned Moscow that any attempt to claim sovereignty over the Arctic would not be tolerated after Russia planted its national flag under the North Pole on Thursday. "I'm not sure whether they've put a metal flag, a rubber flag or a bed sheet on the ocean floor," said Tom Casey, a spokesman for the State Department. "Either way it doesn't have any legal standing."

In a record-breaking expedition led by Artur Chilingarov, a veteran polar explorer, two deep-sea submersibles descended 14,000 feet. More used to submarine disasters than unprecedented maritime feats, the successful operation was greeted with jubilation in Russia where it stirred up memories of derring do from the golden era of Soviet naval exploration. Like other countries with Arctic coastlines, Russia has laid claims for greater territory in the oil-rich area and will present its case to a UN commission in 2010. Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...4/wruss104.xml

Russian Base in Syria, a Symmetrical Strategic Move


Satellite image of Syrian Naval Base at Tartus showing landing crafts and fast missile boats.

Russian military officials have consistently denied reports that Russia is creating a permanent naval base in Tartus, Syria that would give it a Mediterranean outpost and represent a major shift in the regional security balance of the Eastern Mediterranean, the Levant, and the Middle East as a whole. Reports were emerging long before the Israeli attacks on Lebanon that Russia had begun work on deepening the Syrian maritime port of Tartus, used by the Soviet Union and later Russia as a supply point since the Cold War, and widening a channel in Latakia, another Syrian port. Both Tartus and Latakia are significant for both Syria and Russia in that they face the outlet of the Ceyhan end—the receiving end—of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil terminal giving Russia and its partners the ability to disrupt or secure the port and route during the possibility of the eruption of any future war(s) with the United States.

The establishment of this Russian project has been presented as an alternative hub for the Russian Black Sea Fleet, based in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, in the Ukraine, but this seems to be undermined by upgrading and expansion of the Russian naval port of Novorossysk off the eastern margins of the Black Sea. The creation or expansion of naval or military bases off the Syrian coast and Russian coast off the Black Sea seem to imply the future employment of two different forces with different applications for the national and security interests of Russia.

The Russian expansion of the Tartus would include the installation of an air defence system with S-300 PMU2 Favourite ballistic missile system that would be a virtual threat to the Ceyhan, maritime traffic, the flow of oil, and would provide an air defence shield for vital portions of Syria that are strategically important, especially in the event of a war. In essence Damascus, the Syrian capital, and Syria would be protected from either Israeli or American aerial bombardment. It is clear that the Russian aims in Syria are a symmetrical reaction to American objectives for the Middle East and part of a global chess game.

Source: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.p...articleId=2839

Russia building naval base in Syria - report

Russian magazine reports Moscow planning to turn Syrian port into permanent naval base; Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson denies report
Vera Yadidya Russian magazine Kommersant reported Friday that the Russian army is laying the groundwork for building the Syrian port of Tartus, in the north of the country. Russia maintained a base in the port since the days of the Soviet Union, the report said, adding that Moscow could be planning to turn the port into a naval base where ships withdrawn from Sevastopol in Ukraine can anchor. Vladimir Zimin, a senior economic advisor at the Russian Embassy in Damascus, confirmed the plans to the magazine. The move was said to be part of Russia's effort to boost its influence in the Middle East and safeguard Syria.

”As an official at Russian naval headquarters explained, the creation in Tartus of a fully fledged naval base should help Russia redeploy the naval and supply ships leaving Sevastopol,” Kommersant said. Russian military engineers will install an air defense system with S-300PMU-2 Favorit ballistic missiles at the port to protect Russian naval ships, the magazine reported. ”For the first time since the Soviet Union’s collapse, Russia will create its own military base outside former Soviet borders, which will allow Moscow to conduct its own political game in the Middle East,” the newspaper added. The Russian Defense Ministry categorically denied the report, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

"This is an absolutely false report that has no foundation whatsoever," Defense Ministry spokesperson Vyacheslav Sedov told Novosti. Russia has also agreed to upgrade Syria's aerial defense systems, which Moscow supplied in 2005, and its fleet of 1,000 T-72 tanks. Syria is also trying to convince Moscow to sell it two submarines and to upgrade its fleet of MiG 29 fighter jets, the magazine added.

Source: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...258131,00.html

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Araz Azimov: Russia should see armed Armenia disadvantageous



Russia’s relations with Armenia are in the level of military alliance. These states pursue joint policy in the field of defense or military cooperation. Their debates on arming policy of Armenia are not ruled out in the framework of this cooperation, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov told the journalists, APA reports. He said that fact on Russia’s arming Armenia can be unpleasant. “Russia should realize that future of this policy will not be positive,” he said. Mr. Azimov also underlined that Azerbaijan will also pay attention to the arming of Armenia. “Fewer states or companies will sell arm to Armenia. Therefore Armenia will need help of Russia. And in this case Russia should adopt sound decision. If Russia wants to take measures on the peaceful solution to the conflict, it should put an end to arming policy. Otherwise next stage of the crisis can start,” he said.

Source: http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=31961

Crossfire War - Turkey Continues Undeclared War With Armenia - Russia

Night Watch: DARDANELLES - An undeclared war, conducted for more than a century, between Turkey and Armenia is still continuing. ANK-Turkish Daily News have reported Ankara has refused permission for an Albanian cargo ship to pass through the Turkish Straits of the Dardanelles and Bosporous into the Black Sea with its final destination being Armenia. The ship was loaded with weapons for the Armenian military and was forced to turn back. Most likely the weapons will have to shipped to Armenia through Russia, which earlier this year established a strategic - military alliance with Armenia as Moscow's and the West's effort to retain access to the energy resources of the Black Sea-Caucasus-Caspian region.

Ankara has combined its regional policy with Tehran and the Georgian government in Tbilisi in their attempt to control the region and that is why this theatre is the decisive one in World War III. This is the only area Iran can be confronted so directly. Even though every NATO nation needs constant access to raw materials in this area, NATO refused to assist Moscow in any way during the first wars in the North Caucasus from 1994-96 in Chechnya, and in the second series of wars that began again in 1999 when Daghestan was invaded. NATO's failure, due to its suspicious strategic scheming, has prolonged World War III and has enabled Tehran to produce more nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles. Brussels, headquarters of both NATO and the European Union, instead kept insisting and still insists on wars with Serbia.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/200707281.../Opinions.html

Sergey Markov: War is quite possible in Nagorno Karabakh issue

Conditionally speaking, Russia’s stance in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict may be viewed in 60-40 correlation, which means that Moscow supports Yerevan more, Russian politician and member of the RF Public Chamber Sergey Markov stated. Simultaneously Russia tries to keep the status quo –not to break the reached positives. “If we plunge this region into a full-scale war, everybody will suffer from it. The Russian Federation realizes this danger. Moscow builds his whole policy proceeding from the following principle –the main thing is not to harm. So, Azerbaijan is mistaken by considering Russia’s stance in this issue as pro-Armenian. Of course, Russia listens to Armenia more attentively, since Yerevan participates in projects initiated by RF, for example, the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization). And Azerbaijan does just the opposite by drawing into an anti-Russian project, GUAM. Baku pushes Russia making him support Armenia more, in 70-30 correlation,” he underlined.

At the same time Sergey Markov said Russia will not change anything in his stance on Karabakh yet. He added, gradually as far as Azerbaijan’s economic growth continues and the gap between Baku and Yerevan becomes larger the Azeri authorities will fall under temptation to go to the forceful solution of the Karabakh conflict and will make such an attempt. “So, war is quite possible in the Nagorno Karabakh issue. We do not know yet how the problem will be resolved and what the result will be. At least we see that Azerbaijan’s economic predominance over Armenia constantly increases and after some time it will become tremendous. Though, from the other hand Armenians continue to assure that they know how to fight and will always be head and shoulders above. In any case, I think after Azerbaijan accumulates enough resources, some politicians will occur who would like to use those resources to settle the issue forcefully. Moscow’s stance will depend on Russia’s relations with Azerbaijan and Armenia at the moment,” the Russian political scientist stated.

Answering the question if it is possible to say that Armenia can rely on Russia’s assistance in any case, Sergey Markov underscored, “It is difficult to say yet. Azerbaijan has not fallen into the pit of anti-Russian forces,” Baku based “Echo” newspaper reports.

Source: http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=23159

[skhara]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Take a look at the kind of stuff that newsblaze carries:

http://newsblaze.com/iran.html

[TomServo]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

With all this news about the Russian Arctic expedition and Chilingarov, I thought I'd post this article him that AGBU did a few years back. It's also relevant in that Chilingarov comments on Russo-Armenian relations and the importance of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

***

10/1/2002
ARMENIANS IN POLITICS: ADAPTING TO THE NEW RUSSIA
Moscow
by David Zenian

The rules of engagement in Russian politics have changed dramatically since the collapse of the Soviet Union a decade ago, but Arthur Chilingarov has climbed the political ladder to hold the position of Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, the 450-member lower house of the Russian Parliament.

Sahak Karapetyan also entered politics after the collapse of the Soviet Union and like Chilingarov, he too was elected to the Duma and served for four years before his appointment to his new position as Senior Assistant to the General Prosecutor of the Russian Federation.

Lt. Gen. Yevgeni Gurgenovich Batalov may have stayed in active duty if not for his advanced age of 76.

All three men are Russian born Armenians who have integrated into Russian society and served their country while maintaining their ethnic identity and adapting to the changes around them.

“I don’t look at my Armenian roots from a narrow perspective,” explained Chilingarov during a recent interview in his Moscow office.

“I am a Russian-Armenian and Russia is my country, just like the United States is for American-Armenians. I will serve both as best as I can,” he said.

Chilingarov was born in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in 1939 and grew up in an Armenian family, but he had few Armenian friends. “I might have had more Armenian friends and interaction with fellow Armenians if we had a working church in St. Petersburg, but things were different then,” he said.

Chilingarov, who accompanied President Putin during a visit to Armenia last year, admits that maybe he is not a very religious person, but is quick to add that the church should have a prominent place in modern society.

“I visit Armenia at least once a year and have very close relations with His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II. I am convinced that the stronger the Armenian Church becomes, the stronger will relations between Armenia and Russia become too.

“The Russian church is a very powerful institution and has a say in what happens here. The same should be true with the Armenian church,” Chilingarov said.

“Russian politics is unique. Despite the large size of the Armenian population in Russia, they cannot have any political clout—not for a long time anyway. But a strong Armenian Church is a different matter. There is respect for the church here,” he said.

A 1963 graduate of the Arctic Faculty of the Leningrad Marine Institute with a degree in engineering-oceanography, Chilingarov began his career at the Tiksi Observatory of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute.

Despite his busy schedule as a politician, Chilingarov, who has spent the better part of his adult life on the icebergs of the Arctic and is the author of 50 scientific publications, still finds time for his science and research.

During his long career, he has been awarded the Order of Lenin, Hero of the Soviet Union medal, and membership in the Russian Academy of Sciences, and since 1992 assumed the presidency of the Polar Explorers’ Association.

He entered politics “from the back door”—or at least not as a representative of any political party. His work as a scientist had kept him in Russia’s Ninens Autonomous District, some 1,600 kilometers northeast of Moscow, close to the North Pole.

According to the Russian constitution, the region was entitled to one deputy to represent it in the Russian Duma, and the choice was Chilingarov. He was elected with an overwhelming majority and upon arrival in Moscow he campaigned and was elected to the prestigious post of deputy Chairman of the State Duma—a position, which he still holds.

“It’s been almost 40 years since my first Arctic experience, and it is still my first love. Politics is a career, but the Arctic is my passion,” he said with a broad smile pointing at the dozens of momentos from his numerous expeditions, including his last one to the South Pole in January, 2002.

Chilingarov was the first Armenian to reach the South Pole with a team of scientists who flew on a modified Antonov III aircraft piloted by Ukrainian-born Sergei Tarasuk, whose mother is Armenian.

“As much as I was part of a Russian expedition, I was still an Armenian there. My colleagues found it very amusing when I put up a wooden marker with the distances from where we were to the cities representing the origins of team members.

“The marker, which is still there, clearly says Yerevan, 16,116 kilometers. Of course it also gives the distances from Moscow and Kiev, and St. Petersburg, my birthplace.

“I also took a bottle of Armenian brandy with me as a gift to the American team which was also involved in the expedition,” Chilingarov said with a huge smile on his face. As an Armenian, I cannot celebrate an important occasion without some Armenian brandy,” he said.

Chilingarov may be the most visible Armenian in Russian politics today, but by far not the only one.

Sahak Karapetyan’s route into politics was different. The old communist world was vanishing and a new breed of politicians was moving in when Karapetyan, who is now 42 years old, joined the “Yabloco” (which means apple in Russian) liberal democrat party in his native Rostov in southern Russia.

Unlike many in his generation he had tried to join the communist party, but was turned down because “they considered me too liberal, too much of a black sheep, a nationalist.”

A graduate of the Rostov Law school, Karapetyan was elected and served in the Duma for four years after practicing law and holding several positions in the public prosecutor’s office.

When his term expired, he was offered his old job back in Rostov, but decided to stay in Moscow because of family commitment.

“My party lobbied for me for the position of Senior Assistant to the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation and I got the assignment. It is a very difficult and responsible position because I represent Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov (an appointee of Russian President Vladimir Putin) in the Duma,” he said in an interview.

In his position, which carries the quasi-military rank of Major General of the Justice, Karapetyan oversees all government and military agencies and has the authority to investigate, try and issue arrest warrants of all elected officials along with military personnel.

The Prosecutor General’s office maintains 40,000 appointed lawyers and has branch offices in all regions of the Russian Federation.

How did an ethnic Armenian make it in such a sensitive and high position? Is the new Russian system really color blind and does not differentiate between the ethnic background of its citizens?

Karapetyan, a soft-spoken family man and father of a teenage daughter, has never felt discrimination because of his Armenian roots.

“I tried to join the communist party as a young student, but was turned down. The strange thing is that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, I got a letter saying my application had been approved. I laughed. I did not even reply. It was fashionable to be a communist 20 years ago, and my application had nothing to do with my convictions,” he said.

“I am sure that I would not have reached this position if the communists were still in power. My road to success has always been through my hard work, party affiliation and the election process. I received more that 210,000 votes and all were Russians. They voted for the Yabloco Party to which I still belong,” he said.

As a lawyer and a politician—and for that matter a Russian citizen—Karapetyan’s future never depended on an Armenian voting public, but his work and reputation reflect positively on Armenians living in Russia.

“Everyone knows that I am an Armenian. I have not changed my name, and denied my ethnic identity. The respect I get from my fellow party members, government officials and the Duma is also respect for us Armenians. I have always wanted to set a good example, and I will continue doing so,” Karapetyan said in Armenian.

“Don’t forget that I come from Rostov, where Armenians have a 230-year-old history and culture. We don’t take our history and roots lightly,” he said.

If Chilingarov and Karapetyan have climbed the political ladder through the democratic election process in the past decade, retired Lt. Gen. Yevgeni Gurgenovich Batalov took the communist party route.

“You can call me old school. You can call me an old communist, but whatever you say, you must always remember that I have always been not only an Armenia, but an Armenian with roots in Nagorno Karabakh,” the 76-year-old Batalov said during a meeting in the offices of fellow Armenian Major Andranik Babayan, the police chief of Moscow’s populous Khoroshevski District.

The two men smile.

“Imagine … A decade ago we would have been classified as traitors if we had met a Western journalist like you. Just the fact that we can sit here, talk freely as fellow Armenians without any fear is like a dream come true,” Batalov said.

Looking a lot younger than his age, whose knowledge of the Armenian language is limited to a few phrases like Ha Jan (yes, my dear) and Lokh Lava (very good, in the Karabakh Armenian dialect), was born in Moscow and spent his life until retirement with the Soviet military.

“I’m not exactly a politician as you understand the term today, but all the positions I held had very deep political overtones. The military was, and in some cases still is, a political institution,” he said.

After graduating from engineering school, Batalov was drafted into the army as a junior officer and began climbing up the ranks until 1965 when he was transferred to the Interior Ministry—itself a police unit, which, as Batalov puts it “kept an eye on Soviet society.”

In 1967 he was named police chief of Moscow and later was put in charge of a division which coordinated investigations involving all foreign diplomats and nationals living on Soviet soil.

But despite all the power he had, nothing came close to the most sensitive assignment of his long career, including police chief of the city of Kirov during the Brezhnev era.

“I was vacationing on the Black Sea with my wife and only daughter in 1974 when I was ordered to move to Armenia and assume the position of Interior Minister—a Moscow-appointed position which was a lot more powerful than that of the Secretary General of the Armenian Communist Party,” Batalov said.

“The years between 1974 and 1984 are the most memorable in my life. They were also the most difficult. I was a Soviet, but also an Armenian. I will never forget what my father said when I asked his advice before leaving for Yerevan. He said son, act like a Soviet but feel like a true Armenian. Be sure that they not only respect you, but like you as well. I hope I lived up to my father’s expectations,” Batalov said in an emotional voice.

“It was during my service in Yerevan that I realized I was an Armenian, genetically and by nature. I never felt that way growing up in Moscow. We had a lot of Armenian friends, but being on Armenian soil was a totally different experience,” he said.

Batalov can speak for hours about his life long experiences, but stops to single out a few, like the time he went with a police regiment to quell a prison riot, or decided on the fate of a woman who was serving time in jail because she refused to give up her only adopted child.

“The top criminal leading the prison riot in Kirov was an Armenian and he only surrendered because he knew I was an Armenian. As for the Armenian mother, that was in Yerevan. It made me realize what an Armenian mother was, and how strong the Armenian family ties were,” he said.

“I just could not ignore her love for her child. I set her free. I could not separate mother and daughter,” he said.

Years have gone by, the Soviet Union has collapsed, but Batalov’s reputation in Armenia is still alive.

“It was all very much of a surprise when I got a call last year from the Interior Minister of Armenia inviting me to visit Yerevan on my 75th birthday. I had not been back in 16 years, and I hesitated at first, but my daughter, who is married to a young man from Armenia, insisted that we both go,” Batalov said.

On his arrival, Batalov was welcomed by not only top Interior Ministry officers, but even his old personal assistant and driver who came to the tarmac in the exact model of car he used during his long tenure in Armenia.

“If returning to Armenia after all these years was difficult at first, leaving was much more traumatic. In my heart, I want to go back again and again, but at my age, I don’t think I can handle the emotional stress of having to leave and return to my home in Moscow. After all I am a Moscovite, and my mother was Russian. I guess my Armenian genes are stronger,” Batalov said turning to Maj. Andranik Babayan—a new generation police officer.

His advice to Maj. Babayan??

“Don’t forget your roots. You can be a good Russian officer and a true Armenian at the same time. Serve both with dignity and honor.”

http://www.agbu.org/publications/article.asp?A_ID=76

[skhara]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

I agree with the above. It kind of sucks that these guys have russified last names though. Its not so obvious that they have Armenian heritage.

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

With all this news about the Russian Arctic expedition and Chilingarov, I thought I'd post this article him that AGBU did a few years back. It's also relevant in that Chilingarov comments on Russo-Armenian relations and the importance of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

I remember seeing the article several years ago but I could not remember where it was that I saw it. I even tried to do some Google searches but I could not find it. Thank you very much for posting it. Reading it again after the these many years I find that the article in question is more significant now than it was back then. I was talking to an Armenian friend of mine that recently came back from Moscow, he said Chilingarov was already quite famous there and after this adventure in the Arctic he is a national folk hero for Russians now. According to him, Chilingarov is revered by many if not most Russians and they all know that he is an Armenian. And its not only Chilingarov that is representing Armenians within the upper echelons of Russian society, there are many-many others like him.

Russian-Armenians compared to American-Armenians (to which group I happen to be a part of)

Although most Diasporan Armenians have less than good convictions regarding Armenians in Russia (and Armenian from the Caucasus as well for that matter, but that's another story), I, on the other hand, have always had great respect for Russian Armenians and Armenians from the Caucasus region in general. Comparatively speaking, generally speaking, they are the most educated, most progressive, most talented, most warlike people within our nation.

Although many are Russified and don't speak Armenian well, many do posses an inner Armenian pride that is seldom seen elsewhere. I mean they have organic pride in the nation, in the history, in the culture, in the capabilities of our collective nation. Armenians from that part of the world tend to express their pride for Armenia by recanting stories about our numerous war heroes (ancient and modern), our intellectuals, our scientists, our artists, etc. This inner pride was clearly revealed during the worst years of the Artsakh conflict when tens of thousands of volunteers from the Armenian Republic and from other areas of the former Soviet republics converged onto Artsakh to save it from impending doom. In comparison, besides a couple of hundred hard-line Dashanks from Lebanon and Syria what did the Armenian Diaspora of the West do?

What they did was the only thing they know how to do - They were crying at the feet of the majors powers and begging for mercy.

Like I said, the notion of Armenian pride for those people in and around the Caucasus is organic, its an integral part of their being, even if they don't speak Armenian well, even if they don't live in the Armenian Republic. Whereas Armenian pride in a place like the United States is based upon a victims mentality and not much else. Sadly, Armenian nationalism within much of the Disapora is only expressed by perennially crying about the Armenian Genocide at the feet of the powers that be and repeating over and over and over again that Armenians were the first Christians - as if anyone cares.

For most proud Amerikahais their Armenian identity is like a favorite shirt they wear on weekends. Armenian "pride" for Americahais is eating Luleh kabobs in Church picnics and listening to Turkish music disguised as Western Armenian folk. In other words, Armenian pride here in the states is pathetically shallow bordering on absurd.

Incidentally, a comment about their statements about the Church. Although most Russians and Armenians in the region are not believers in organized religion per say, they do, however, tend to be more spiritual and they do have great respect for the national Church and its role within society. I think this attitude partially stems from the fact that it is popular knowledge for those folk just how much the Orthodox Church suffered at the hands of the Bolsheviks. Most people fail to realize that Orthodox Christian Russian Slavs of the region suffered by far the greatest at the hands of the Bolsheviks.

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Russia Starts Production of Ballistic Missile to Counter U.S.



Russia will start producing an intercontinental ballistic missile for its new generation of nuclear submarines as it moves to counter a proposed U.S. missile defense system in eastern Europe.

Russia ordered production of components for the Bulava-M missile after successfully test firing it June 29 from a submarine in the White Sea to Kamchatka on the Pacific coast, state television cited navy chief Admiral Vladimir Masorin as saying yesterday in Sevastopol, home of Russia's Black Sea fleet. The navy plans two more test launches of the missile this year. There may be some mishaps during the forthcoming launches but that is what tests are for,'' state broadcaster Perviy Kanal cited Masorin as saying on its Web site. Three launches of the Bulava-M last year and another in 2005 failed.

President Vladimir Putin has said Russia can produce missiles capable of piercing any defenses. Russia opposes U.S. plans to base 10 missile interceptors in Poland and radar installations in the Czech Republic. Putin rejects President George W. Bush's assertion the system is aimed at defending Europe from a nuclear-armed Iran. Huge intellectual labor and financial resources have been invested in the creation of this system,'' Masorin said in the Crimean port yesterday. The Bulava-M is designed for Russia's new generation of nuclear submarines and is a key component in the country's strategic forces, the report said. The first of the submarines, the Yuri Dolgoruky, was launched in April after lengthy delays.

Source: http://www.defensetech.org/archives/cat_missiles.html

Russia making a comeback

For first time since Iron Curtain's fall, Russia to set up naval base on Syrian

Another phase in Russian President Vladimir Putin's imperialistic aspirations is being realized. It was just a matter of time before the Russian navy returned to the Mediterranean and resumed permanent command over the Syrian ports of Tartus and Latakia, which it abandoned with the fall of the Soviet Union. A Russian flag on Syrian soil has significant strategic implications. Firstly, it challenges the US and the dominance of the Sixth Fleet stationed in the Mediterranean. Secondly, with its actual presence in Syria, Russia is announcing that it is actively participating in any process and conflict in the Middle East, that it has a stance of its own, and that it must be reckoned with.

From Israel's point of view, we can expect a change in the rules of the game in the Mediterranean in general, and more specifically along the Syrian-Lebanon coasts: We haven't seen Soviet spy ships in the Mediterranean for quite some time. A permanent port in Syria would significantly facilitate its operations in our arena. Under such circumstances, the Israeli navy's freedom of action would inevitably change – and we may assume that Israel would have a problem striking at land-based facilities during wartime. The large-scale Syrian-Russian arms deal also includes systems for protecting coasts and ports and land-to-sea missiles of the most advanced type. Now we understand why.

Russia may play role of 'responsible adult'

Generally speaking, any possible Israeli military operation against Syria in the future would have to take the Russian presence into account. This presence would not necessarily be neutral. It is very reasonable to assume that Russia would take sides, at least diplomatically, in such a conflict. But perhaps the situation is not so bleak. As a "responsible adult" residing in Syria, Russia can actually serve to restrain a violent conflict from erupting between Syria and Israel.

Even now we can see that the Russians refrained from selling the Syrians some problematic arms from our point of view, such as the missiles that followed the Scud missile generation or the Russian equivalent of the Patriot anti-aircraft missiles. Although the Russians have agreed to upgrade Syria's MIG-29 aircraft, they have still not concluded the sale of new MIG-31A aircraft. There are still quite a few items the Syrians have asked for that the Russians are still weighing. Moreover, Russia may have a very central role is restraining the Iranian bear hug embracing Syria. In an age where there is talk of American withdrawal from Iraq, such a restraining Russian influence is doubly important in impeding the fundamentalist wave that is threatening to immerse the region.

Source: http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/Art...434237,00.html

Russia unveils air defence, eyes U.S. missile shield

MOSOCW (Reuters) - Russia unveiled a new air defence system on Monday that its designers say will be used as the basis of a new generation of Russian missile-intercepting weapons.

Russian television stations gave wide coverage to the deployment of the S-400 air defence system, a modernised version of a Soviet-designed surface-to-air missile unit. "The real effectiveness of this complex is its ability to destroy ballistic targets, ballistic missiles, aerodynamic targets," Vadim Volkovitsky, deputy air force commander in charge of anti-aircraft defence, told NTV television. "So not only the functions of air defence but also anti-missile defence," he said. Russia has been bickering with the United States over Washington's plans to deploy elements of an anti-missile defence shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.

The United States says the shield is intended to defend against missiles from "rogue states" such as Iran and North Korea and that it could not defeat Russia's giant nuclear arsenal. But President Vladimir Putin says the shield would hurt Russia's interests and Russian generals have said Moscow will develop its own anti-missile defence shield in retaliation. The Vremya Novostei newspaper reported that the S-400 would be used as a basis for a Russian anti-missile defence system. The designers of the S-400 Triumf said they were already working on a mobile anti-missile defence system.

"Our next task is a system called the S-500, an anti-missile system, a mobile anti-missile defence system, a fifth generation system as one element of Russia's unified system of anti-missile defence," said Igor Ashurbeili, general director of the Almaz design bureau. A Russian Orthodox priest was shown on television blessing the new weapons at a deployment ceremony in the city of Elekrostal in greater Moscow. The systems will initially defend Moscow and central Russia. The S-400 can destroy targets travelling at up to 5 km per second, including aircraft and medium-range ballistic missiles, though not intercontinental missiles, which travel too fast. It has a range of up to 400 km.

Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/worldN...28848420070806

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

ARMENIA SIGNS A COOPERATION AGREEMENT WITH RUSSIA ALROSA



ALROSA Je-wellery and the Armenian Ministry of Trade and Economic Development signed an Agreement on Cooperation in Je-wellery, Press Secretary Anahit Khechoyan told Panorama.am. Minister of Trade and Economic Development Nerses Yeritsyan and ALROSA President Sergey Vibornov signed the document. Present were ALROSA Deputy President Sergey Ulin, President of the Armenian International Association of Goldsmiths, DCA Head Gagik Abrahamyan, Je-wellery Department Head Gagik Mkrtchyan other Armenian and Russian representatives. The press secretary said “work will be done on details of the agreement” since the Russian party has “serious plans” to enlarge cooperation.

The Russian delegation, spearheaded by Sergey Vibornov, arrived in Yerevan today. ALROSA President will meet with the Armenian president and the prime minister today. He will also hold meeting with local entrepreneurs. As a follow-up, an Armenian-Russian joint venture on Russian diamond processing is expected in Armenia. Sources say soon ALROSA and DCA will sign an agreement to process Russian diamond in Armenia, which will be sold in the Russian market. ALROSA processes 97 percent of Russian diamond and owns 25 percent of total share of world diamond processing. The company revenues approximate $3 billion per annum. ALROSA shareholders are Rosimushestvo (37 percent of shares), Yakutia State Ownership Management Ministry (32 percent of shares), eight regions of Yakutia (8 percent of shares) and 23 percent of shares are owned by different physical and legal entities.

Source: http://www.panorama.am/en/economy/2007/08/06/alrosa/

Russian diamond giant Alrosa may launch Armenia Je-welry business

Russia's largest diamond producer Alrosa [RTS: ALRS] could launch a Je-welry business in Armenia, the company's president said Monday. The government of Armenia and Alrosa, which accounts for 97% of Russia's raw diamond production and for 25% of global output, signed on August 6 in Yerevan an agreement on cooperation in the Je-welry and diamond-cutting sectors. "The Russian Je-welry market has huge vacant niches and we do not rule out the possibility of utilizing the capacities of Armenian Je-welry enterprises for the placement of orders," Sergei Vybornov said.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/business/20070806/70454297.html

Armenia open for cooperation with all states

Trade and economic cooperation with Russia is one of the priorities of Armenia’s foreign policy, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said.

“Let us not forget that the Russian market is the most available for us. Besides bilateral relations in energy, transport, metallurgy, chemistry and trade, we have developed relations in the banking system, precious stones working, information technologies and tourism as well as minor and middle business,” he said. The Armenian Minister noted that some 700 organizations basing on Russian capital have been registered in Armenia. “The growth of the Russian stock proves that the Armenian market becomes more and more attractive for investors. Armenia is open for cooperation with states,” the RA FM said, Interfax reports.

Source: http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=23175

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Russia's MAKS-2007 air show to attract record number of firms



Russia hopes to attract a record number of companies to participate in a major air show outside Moscow on August 21-26, a senior Moscow city government official said Monday. Over 540 Russian companies and at least 200 foreign firms from over 30 countries are expected to participate in MAKS-2007, an air show held every two years in the town of Zhukovsky, which hosts a military airbase.

"At present, 726 participants have begun setting up their exhibits at the show," said Pyotr Katsyv, the transport minister in the Moscow city government. He also said the air show, which has grown in popularity each year, would attract a larger number of visitors and guests. The last air show, MAKS-2005, gathered 642 companies from 42 states. Contracts signed during MAKS-2005 totaled about $1 billion. Among the most notable deals closed at the show were the purchase of two Russian Il-76F military transport planes by Jordan, and a Russian-Indian deal on licensed production of AL-55I engines created by the Saturn Corporation.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070806/70460144.html

Russia to build 2 Kalashnikov factories in Venezuela by 2010



Russia will build two factories for production of the famous Kalashnikov assault rifle and ammunition in Venezuela by 2010, a Russian arms manufacturer said Monday. The Urals-based Izhevsk Mechanical Plant (IMP) earlier fulfilled a contract to supply 100,000 AK-103 assault rifles to Venezuela, and signed a new contract licensing production of Kalashnikov rifles in the Latin American country.

"We will begin construction of two plants in Venezuela at the end of 2007," Vladimir Gorodetsky, the IMP general director told a news conference dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the famous small arms brand. "One plant will manufacture AK-103 assault rifles and another plant will produce 7.62-mm ammunition for the rifle," the official said. He said the contract, whose amount was not disclosed, specified construction of both plants at one site and the transfer of all related technologies and production licenses to Venezuela.

"It is an absolutely legitimate license on the production of small arms in Venezuela legally purchased by the country," Gorodetsky said, adding that the contract also envisioned training of personnel and after sales maintenance. The IMP official said Russia and Venezuela are discussing details for a new agreement on the supply of other types of small arms, including the Dragunov sniper rifle, to the South American state led by outspoken Socialist leader, Hugo Chavez.

"Out goal is to re-equip the Venezuelan army with modern types of small arms, grenade launchers, and sniper rifles," he said. Oil-rich Venezuela is a major purchaser of Russian weapons and hardware. In 2005-2006, Venezuela ordered weaponry from Russia worth $3.4 billion, including 24 Su-30MK2V Flanker fighters, Tor-M1 air defense missile systems, Mi-17B multi-role helicopters, Mi-35 Hind E attack helicopters and Mi-26 Halo heavy transport helicopters. Russia has repeatedly stated that it would actively participate in the modernization of the Venezuelan armed forces until 2013.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070806/70445720.html

Experts: SCO joint drill to improve anti-terror capability



A joint anti-terrorism military exercise, sponsored by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and slated for Aug. 9-17, will enhance the exchange among SCO member countries and improve their counter-terror capabilities, experts said. The first joint exercise was carried out on Monday at the Chebarkul drill site near the Ural Mountains city of Chelyabinsk. "We may hope that all tasks in the interests of the SCO member states will be successfully fulfilled," Russian commander Vladimir Moltensky said after the two-hour exercise. "The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is not aimed against third countries and operates only in the interests of member states," he added.

The "Peace Mission 2007" drill, involving about 6,500 military personnel from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, will be carried out in Chelyabinsk and Urumqi, capital of China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Commanders from the six countries will hold consultations and make decisions in Urumqi upon receiving alert of an assumed terrorist attack on a Russian town and the field practice will then continue in Russian military ranges near Chelyabinsk. "In terms of both scale and content, the joint drill will reflect the trends of counter-terror exercises and bears an historic significance as a milestone in military cooperation among the six SCO member countries," said Zhen Shouhua, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Military Science.

"The joint drill will not indulge in empty talk but practice coordination and command in anti-terror combat. It will also serve to maintain regional peace and stability," Zhen said, noting that it is difficult for one country or its military forces to crack down on all terrorist organizations and activities that continue to grow worldwide. Heads of states and defense ministers of the SCO member countries will attend the live fire exercise on Aug. 17, which will involve airborne troops, special task forces, armored vehicles, military helicopters and fighters, said Qian Lihua, deputy general director of the Chinese troops. Such drill has been expanded with increasing member countries, combined troops and a much more complicated situation since the first of its kind was held in 2002, Qian said. "We can only cope with security challenges, and secure peace and development by enhancing cooperation when terrorism, separatism and extremism are active in the region," Qian said.

Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_6484614.htm